Mothers have a biological imperative to nurture their offspring. In humans, this generally amounts to providing food, clothing, shelter, and a safe and loving home. On occasion, however, things go wrong, and mothers think of harming their children. In this book we meet an array of mothers, some more capable than others.
Liz, Jess, Charlotte, and Mel met in prenatal group ten years ago, when each woman was expecting her first child.
The mothers remained friends ever since, though life's responsibilities - and growing families - limited their social interactions.
Liz is now a senior registrar (doctor) in pediatrics at St. Joseph's Hospital in West London.
One Friday night Liz is called down to the ER when a ten-month-old baby is brought in. According to the intake notes the infant is nonmobile, irritable, drowsy, tearful, and has vomited.
A glance at the child's name, Betsey Curtis, shocks Liz. This is her friend Jess's baby!
Jess, in turn, is relieved to see Liz. She exclaims, "Oh, thank god it's you. I didn't think we should come, but Ed was adamant. It's so unlike him to worry, it panicked me into bringing her in."
It turns out baby Betsey has a fractured skull, and Jess's only explanation is that Betsey was trying to pull herself up on the refrigerator and fell. Jess suggests this must have caused the injury, which she hadn't noticed before bringing the baby to the ER. Moreover Jess is acting squirrely, and seems to be holding something back.
Liz can't allow herself to think her friend Jess purposely harmed Betsey, but knows she has to report the incident to her superior, Dr. Neil Cockerill. Cockerill INSISTS Liz call social services and then removes Liz from the case, as hospital protocol dictates.
A brouhaha ensues. Little Betsey is admitted to the hospital; the police question Liz and her husband Ed;
Forensic experts examine the couple's home; a social worker speaks to the couple's two older sons; neighbors and local shop owners are interviewed; and so on.
The upshot is that Jess is suspected of harming her child, and a social worker, Lucy Stone, is assigned to oversee Jess's interactions with Betsey.
Moreover, Jess's sister Martha is asked to stay at the Curtis home, to watch over Jess and Ed's boys, until the case is resolved one way or another.
Liz KNOWS she did the right thing calling social services, but still feels guilty about ensnaring Jess in this predicament. Jess always seemed to be the perfect mother. She took excellent care of her children; kept an immaculate home; prepared delicious meals; and kept up her appearance. On top of that, Jess did all this with minimal help from her hard-working husband Ed, who was strictly a 'take kids to sports' dad.
Though Liz has faith in Jess, she knows from experience that some women aren't good mothers. Liz has memories of her own troubled, hard-drinking mother, whose neglect caused a terrible injury to her brother.
Liz also has vague memories of seeing something happen to a baby when she was a toddler.
The story, which is told from the alternating points of view of Liz and Jess (and occasionally other people), jumps around all over the place: from Liz having memories of her childhood; to the prenatal class where Liz, Jess, Charlotte, and Mel met; to a recent barbecue for the women and their families; to the police questioning Jess and Ed; to Jess giving birth to Betsey; to Liz dealing with her mother's ongoing drunken bouts; to things that happened in Jess and Ed's house; to Ed being concerned about his wife; to Jess worrying about her baby; and more. This type of disjointed narrative seems to be very popular these days, and it's a bit hard to follow in this book.
The novel is too long, with sections that don't move the story forward. That said, it's a compelling narrative about motherhood - a hard job made easier with support from the father, family, and friends. Even so, some women aren't up to the task - temporarily or permanently - because of stress, anxiety, fatigue, frustration, post-partum depression, mental illness, or other nebulous factors.
The novel is billed as a psychological thriller, but it's more of a domestic drama with a suspenseful thread. Several characters are keeping secrets, and I was curious to find out what these were. The astute reader will probably guess some, while others will be more elusive. One part of the book stretches suspension of disbelief to the breaking point, and should have been left out (in my opinion).
Overall I thought this was an average suspense novel with a good message about giving mothers the assistance they require.
Thanks to Netgalley, the author (Sarah Vaughn), and the publisher (Atria/Emily Bestler Books) for a copy of the book.
Rating: 3 stars
No comments:
Post a Comment